New defense chief Gen Nakatani repeated Friday that the purpose of moving U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa is to get it out of crowded Ginowan, stressing that keeping it in the prefecture will make sure it remains a deterrent in the ...

The Cabinet remains unchanged except Gen Nakatani, a former first lieutenant in the Ground Self-Defense Force, replaces scandal-hit Akinori Eto as defense minister and minister in charge of security legislation.

Palauan President Tommy Remengesau said Thursday his nation would welcome a possible visit by the Emperor and Empress next year in honor of the more than 10,000 Japanese soldiers who died there during World War II. The South Pacific island nation was the scene ...

Diet heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa, leader of Seikatsu no To (People’s Life Party), admitted Monday that the opposition camp failed to give voters an alternative to the ruling bloc in the Lower House election but stressed that change is still possible if they join hands. ...

Sapporo Mayor Fumio Ueda announced Nov. 27 that his city will bid to host the 2026 Winter Olympics. The decision came about a year after Tokyo landed the 2020 Summer Games. If Sapporo succeeds, it will be its second Winter Olympics. In 1972, it ...

The government decided on Friday to deliver 20,000 protective suits to West Africa via the Air Self-Defense Force next week, part of a donation of 700,000 suits to help Ebola-hit countries in the region. The delivery will mark the first time an SDF plane ...

Japanese Communist Party Chairman Kazuo Shii pledged Thursday to scrap the second stage of the consumption tax hike as he outlined the party’s platform ahead of the campaign for the Dec. 14 Lower House election. He said Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s economic policies had ...

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe praised Jordan’s efforts to cope with threats posed by the Islamic State group and pledged a fresh grant aid worth more than ¥2 billion to help the country cope with its difficulties. “We highly appreciate the role Jordan has played ...